Former Council Candidate Pays Elections Fine

CITY LINE

February 23, 2005|By This week's City Line is by Courant staff writers Oshrat Carmiel and Jeffrey B. Cohen.

If you run in a primary and lose and then run again in the general election that same year, don't make a contribution from your candidate committee to a political action committee supporting your election.

That's the law, and apparently Radames Vasquez broke it, according to a decision by the state Elections Enforcement Commission.

Vasquez, who ran for council in 2003, reached a settlement with the commission last week, in which he paid a fine for violating state campaign finance laws.

The commission found that Vasquez made an illegal contribution of $1,100 from his candidate committee, which supported his primary run for council, to the Hartford Together PAC, which backed his run during the general election of 2003.

Vasquez admitted to his violations and settled the matter with the commission by paying a $500 fine.

Vasquez's lawyer, former councilman and one-time running mate, John B. Kennelly, did not return a call seeking comment.

The commission is also talking with Vasquez's foster dad, Abraham Giles, about campaign finance violations.

Giles has admitted to making an ``excessive contribution'' to the Hartford Together PAC, which supported Vasquez's council run. He admitted to donating $5,500 to the PAC, even though the legal limit for an individual contribution is $1,000.

``He should have known better. He's a veteran of politics,'' said Jeffrey B. Garfield, the commission's executive director.

Giles has asked to pay the balance on a $500-a-month payment plan, but must submit an affidavit attesting to financial hardship in order to do so. He hasn't yet, and so the commission rejected his settlement deal last week. The board can reverse its decision.

Lelia J. Bouyer, a 1st District town committee member, who was treasurer of the Hartford Together PAC, admitted to accepting the illegal contributions from Giles and Vasquez. She agreed to pay a $3,000 penalty, to be reduced to $1,000 if she can demonstrate financial hardship, Garfield said.

Bouyer and Giles are also represented by Kennelly.

Metro Hartford Information Services, the city and school board's information technology agency, may soon be under the umbrella of city hall.

Mayor Eddie A. Perez proposed an ordinance that would make the agency into a bona fide city department and its director, Michael Vasquenza, answerable to the mayor.

The agency, born out of a cost saving merger of the school board's and city's IT departments, answers to a five-member governing board, consisting of city and school board appointees and a member of the corporate community.

It's not much of a change, but a clarification, said Sarah Barr, spokeswoman for the mayor.

``It's all part of the charter change where everyone ends up answering to the mayor in the end, because it's a strong mayor system,'' she said.

The Bushnell Park Foundation has decided that after 24 years, it's time to put its management contract out to bid. And The Parisky Group, the management firm behind the foundation since 1981, says it's not interested in bidding.

The firm, which has handled most of the foundation's work -- answering the phones, doing the grant writing, among other critical functions -- will end its longstanding relationship with the foundation next month.

``We care deeply about the park and its future, and it's not an easy decision after 24 years,'' said Sanford Parisky, a company principal.

For the first time, the foundation board decided to ``to go out and test the market,'' and put the management contract out to bid, said foundation president Caren Kittredge.

``We actually said to them, `We hope you would apply,''' she said, referring to the Parisky Group.

Parisky said the foundation's board seems to want a change in the ``mission and direction'' of the organization, placing more emphasis on cosmetic improvements, such as tree planting and Christmas tree lighting, as opposed to major infrastructure projects.

``Our action was a disagreement about this approach to managing the organization,'' Parisky said. ``We feel it's not in the best interest of the organization.''